Funkel plays down victory

Friedhelm Funkel has taken away some of the credit for his side's win over Ventspils, insisting the poor quality of the opponents had helped them to only their third win of the season.

A goal from Raffael, who was also sent off, earned Berlin a 1-0 win in Latvia which puts them just one point away from a place in the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League, but Funkel still did not seem impressed.

"You have got to be honest and say that the opponent was not very good," he said. "We only needed an average performance to win. It was not a good game from my side, but the pitch did not allow it to be."

Nevertheless, with only one win in the Bundesliga all season and three games to go to try and salvage some pride before the midway stage of the season, Funkel also saw some positive aspects that his side can build on.

"We fought hard and have reached our goal of being able to qualify off our own backs in the last game," he said.

Strangely, Berlin have earned more points in five European matches this season than they have in 14 Bundesliga encounters.

With seven points in Europe, a draw against Sporting Lisbon at the Olympia Stadion on December 16 will enable them to join the Portuguese in the next round, but they first must look to increase their tally of only five points in the Bundesliga, starting with Sunday's trip to Schalke.